Video: The art of the melting pot

Chris Bergeron

Saturday

May 24, 2008 at 12:01 AMMay 24, 2008 at 1:31 AM

An engaging, informative exhibit, "Keepers of Tradition" at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Mass., celebrates the role traditional artists play, sharing skills, crafts and beliefs that create common bonds that bring people together.

"Everything has roots. Ain't nothing new, Babe." -- Dr. Jimmy Slyde

Assuming the jubilant, late tap dancer known as Dr. Jimmy Slyde was right, then every parade, block party and ethnic festival provides a living conduit to traditions that enrich our lives.

Across the Bay State, a global village of artists reach deep into their varied pasts to keep alive folk traditions that help forge a new culture.

An engaging, informative exhibit, "Keepers of Tradition" at the National Heritage Museum celebrates the role these artists play sharing skills, crafts and beliefs that create common bonds that bring people together.

In his Concord workshop, Mark Sutherland commemorates New England's maritime trade by building historic model ships of consummate expertise. At the Angkor Dance Troupe of Lowell, Cambodian children enact the tale of the mythic monkey warrior who conquered demons. Serving as her student's artistic guru, Framingham resident Tara Anand Bangalore preserves the ancient classical music of South India.

Organized by Maggie Holtzberg of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, this show features 100 often striking works by 70 Bay State artists, including several from MetroWest communities.

The manager of folk arts and heritage programs at MCC, she said the exhibit, which was four years in the making, was designed "to bring greater visibility" to artists from across the state who share their own deeply rooted traditions.

"A lot of these traditions take place within small pockets of the community," said Holtzberg. "We wanted to preserve and promote these traditions in Massachusetts."

Describing the eight years of research by MCC folklorists that went into the exhibit, Holtzberg said "fieldwork has taken us into the homes, kitchens, workshops, dance halls, places of worship, parade routes and other gathering places where traditional art is produced, used, valued and displayed."

Subtitled "Art and Folk Heritage in Massachusetts," it runs through Feb. 8 in the Lexington museum.

MCC Executive Director Anita Walker called the exhibit "a vivid demonstration of why the arts are so central to life in Massachusetts."

"The works produced by the artists in this show celebrate many of the things that make our state unique: our rich history, our cultural diversity and our remarkable creativity."

Think of this fascinating show as a tour through the markets and bazaars of the world with no haggling.

And in case you don't think art can be down to earth, Ashland mason Nick O'Hara built a stone wall in the gallery that would certainly keep cows out of the snack bar.

As if holding a mirror to the commonwealth, this show reminds visitors how the varied faiths, music, handicrafts and dances of different cultures can show the way to common ground rather than divisive misunderstandings.

Through intricately crafted objects, it demonstrates that Karol Lindquist's woven baskets, Dave Golber's ornate Norwegian fiddle and Almas Boghosian's Armenian needle lace work deserve as much consideration as works of art as most of what's hanging on the walls of museums today.

The exhibit showcases numerous striking pieces that convey the varied religious traditions of their makers.

During his 20 years as a Gloucester fishman, Italian immigrant Marco Randazzo created a unique artform by twisting nautical lines and bits of multicolored string into crucifixes.

Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Carlos Santiago Arroyo taught himself to carve "santos," or stylized figures of saints, of wood from the female cedar tree after a religious epiphany during a visit to his old home. In this show, he's displaying several remarkably varied pieces including "The Most Powerful Hand" that portrays Christ's palm with a nail wound and saints protruding from each finger.

The exhibit is conveniently organized by themes into five sections that reveal underlying connections between the traditional art of widely varied cultures. They are: Celebrations: Festivals, Dance and Music; Useful Things Made Beautiful; Life and Work by the Sea; Sacred Expressions: Religious Belief in Everyday Life; and Passing It On: Traditional Arts Apprenticeships.

This final section highlights several younger artists who are mastering venerated artistic traditions under the guidance of a generally older master teacher.

Passing down a five-century old art, Feridun Ozgoren has been teaching Guliz Pamukoglu, the ancient art of paper marbling, which creates layered patterns of swirling colors interwoven with graceful calligraphy.

Trained by master musicians in her native India, Tara Anand Bangalore has been teaching the ancient form of Carnatic music, which uses different melodic scales, to Westwood teenager Suhas Rao who has performed in the U.S. and overseas.

Born James T. Godbolt, the artist who performed as Dr. Jimmy Slyde deservedly earned his nickname "Grandfather of Tap." A Boston native, he began studying tap and other dance forms in the 1940s and eventually performed in films and on stage with Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.

In an inspirational video, Slyde, then in his 70s, passes on decades of dance magic to his student, 23-year-old Rocky Mendes, who incorporates hip-hop moves into his frenetic routines.

While demonstrating steps and moves, Slyde, who died May 16 described the protege who's carrying on his dancing artistry as "a joyful young man and I think he's worth every minute of it."

Dr. Jimmy Slyde might have been describing "Keepers of Tradition."

THE ESSENTIALS:

The National Heritage Museum is supported by the Scottish Rite Freemasons in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States.

The museum is located at 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, at the corner of Route. 2A and Massachusetts Avenue.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission and parking are free.

For further information about the National Heritage Museum, contact the museum at 781-861-6559 or visit www.monh.org.

Visit the exhibition Web site at www.massfolkarts.org.

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